This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

We asked some of the stars at TIFF this month to take a mental break from talking about their films to do some daydream casting. If they could audition for any screen role — past or present — what would it be?

Their answers may surprise you.

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Ruth Negga is the star of Loving. (NYT)

“Margo Channing in All About Eve. Deffo. I remember watching that film again recently and thinking obviously there’s one character (Channing) that stands out, but when I watched it again there are these three women (Bette Davis as Channing, Anne Baxter as Eve Harrington and Celeste Holm as Karen Richards) that are really good, lovely meaty roles. It’s so modern feeling to me. And (theatre critic) Addison DeWitt (George Sanders). He’s vile. Actually, I’ll take his part.”

Article Continued Below

John Legend (La La Land)

John Legend is in the audience favourite La La Land. (Alberto E. Rodriguez)

“Marvin Gaye (in a biopic). The characters that always excited me when I was young were lawyers, kind of like the fighters for justice. Those kind of characters where they made these great speeches in defence of justice. One day that would be cool, but I’d have to do a lot of work as an actor just to get my chops up to pull it off.”

Jacob Tremblay (Burn Your Maps)

Jacob Tremblay stars in Burn Your Maps. (Melissa Renwick)

“I’d say Star Wars. I’d be like, anyone in Star Wars, actually. I’d be an Ewok in a costume. I’d even be a background person if I had to. I think that lots of people would say Kylo Ren is a good person to be, but I’d say Poe Dameron. If I don’t get to do Poe, I’d probably do Kylo Ren. Or Luke Skywalker.”

Jacob Tremblay would like to take on Oscar Isaac's role in the Star Wars franchise.

Rooney Mara (Lion)

Rooney Mara was in town for Lion. (Melissa Renwick)

“That’s a really hard question because there’s so many roles, male and female, that I would love to play, but then it wouldn’t be the thing that I love, you know what I mean? All the things I would have loved to be in are perfect the way they are, so I shouldn’t be in them.”

Michelle Williams, Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams star in "Manchester by the Sea." (Matt Winkelmeyer)

Williams: “I’m never good at these questions. Not that I’m good at any questions!”

Affleck (to Williams): “I would like to see you as . . . ”

Williams: “Jesus! You should play Jesus!”

Affleck: “And you should play Mary!”

Jeremy Renner (Arrival)

Jeremy Renner stars in Arrival. (FRED THORNHILL)

“Audition for it? Maybe some of James Cagney’s old stuff. That would be fun. Maybe one of the roles from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Or how about Malcolm McDowell’s role from A Clockwork Orange? But I would never remake that! There’s a lot of stuff that resonates with me that would be interesting.”

Jeremy Renner would be up for playing either Butch or Sundance from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

“Basically any role that Jimmy Stewart ever did. Especially Vertigo and The Man Who Knew Too Much. I just love Jimmy Stewart. But it’s silly, because I couldn’t have done it as well as Stewart did. This is hard, because anything I’d say the person who did it was so phenomenal, it seems beside the point. I couldn’t have done it any better.”

Michael Shannon is partial to James stewart's role in Vertigo.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the title character in Snowden.

“I wouldn’t want to remake anything. But how about Peter Lorre in Casablanca? I’d like to do that.”

Shailene Woodley (Snowden)

Shailene Woodley is part of the Snowden cast. (Andrew Kelly)

“I don’t know if it’s a classic, because it was released in 1991, but how about Thelma and Louise? I’d like to play Louise, because I’m so much more of a Louise.”

Shailene Woodley says she's definitely more of a Louise than a Thelma.

Isabelle Huppert (Elle, Things to Come, Souvenir)

Isabelle Huppert came to TIFF with three movies (Andrew Lahodynskyj)

“I don’t think this way. I think I’d rather be original.”

Dev Patel (Lion)

Dev Patel stars in the TIFF movie Lion. (Chris So)

“It would probably be Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness. I relate to those kinds of stories; those are the kind of movies I want to watch. It’s that ultimate underdog kind of feeling. I remember those scenes and I really enjoyed that movie.”

Will Smith's role in The Pursuit of Happyness is one Dev Patel wouldn't mind attempting.

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com